芸曰：「聞王郎懦弱無能，不過守成之子，而王又無成可守。 Yun said “I heard young Wang is timid, weak and incompetent; whilst he is a son who will preserve the accomplishments of previous generations, the Wangs do not have many accomplishments to preserve.

幸詩禮之家，且又獨子，許之可也。」 Fortunately they are a cultured family, and moreover have only one soon, so betrothing him would be fine.

_Literally, Yun describes them as "a family of the Book of Songs" (詩禮). The son is an only-child (獨子) so he will inherit everything. 許 here means 'betroth'._

余謂藎臣曰：「吾父與君有渭陽之誼，欲媳青君，諒無不允。 I said to Jinchen: “My father and you have the friendship of Weiyang, so if you want Qingjun as a daughter-in-law, I imagine it will be permitted.

_渭陽 refers to a story from ancient China about two very close friends, and could be translated as 'legendary friendship'. 諒 here is like 'suppose', for dealing with a delicate issue. 無不允 is literally 'not have no permission', so 'have permission'._

但待長而嫁，勢所不能。 But it’s necessary to wait until she has grown up and then marry her, and in the current circumstances that is not possible.

_勢 generally means 'force' or 'power', but here has the sense of 'force of circumstances'._

余夫婦往錫山後，君即稟知堂上，先為童媳，何如？」 After my wife and I have gone to Xishan, you would then notify my father that first she will be your child daughter-in-law; how about that?”

逢森亦托友人夏揖山轉薦學貿易。 Fengsen was also entrusted to a friend, Xia Yishan, who would in turn introduce him to the study of trade.

_夏揖山 is a name: Xia Yishan._

安頓已定，華舟適至，時庚申之臘二十五日也。 As soon as this was settled, it happened that the Hua’s boat arrived. It was the 25th day of the 12th month of 1800.

_適 means "just at that moment" or "it so happened"._

芸曰：「孑然出門，不惟招鄰里笑，且西人之項無著，恐亦不放，必於明日五鼓悄然而去。」 Yun said “If we leave the house alone, not only will we provoke the laughter of the neighbours, but also there’s that issue of the Westerner not being repaid; I’m afraid that he won’t let us go. We must leave quietly tomorrow at 5 o’clock.”

余曰：「卿病中能冒曉寒耶？」 I said “My darling, in the middle of your illness can you stand the morning cold?”

芸曰：「死生有命，無多慮也。」 Yun said “Life and death are fated, I don’t have much concern.”

密稟吾父，亦以為然。 I secretly informed my father, and he agreed to it.

_The translation ought to include "informed my father [of the plan]" but this isn't actually included in the Chinese._